Monday, January 9, 2023

Move to Salton City, California

 Today is the day to go out on my own.  This morning, I was up around 8:30 and outside putting the last few things away for my short journey.  After finishing, I walked over to Deb and Riley's for a short visit and a rest before venturing to start the White Lion.

Not sure of the time, but I think it was around 10:30, I was saying goodbye for now to all my friends who have been with me through thick and thin with the WL.  The WL had started right up.  Maybe my problems are over.

My destination today is somewhere near Borrego Springs or Salton City, California.   It's about 100 miles west.  

First stop was the water station at the Dunes Rest Area.  Being a Monday, it was crowded.  There were several motorhomes and trucks waiting to take on water, so I pulled over and had breakfast while I waited.  It was after noon, when it cleared out and I was able to take on water.  It's after 1 o'clock now.  Still early.

As I was traveling through the dunes my engine light came on because the WL was overheating.  I slowed down to about 50 miles and it went off.  My engine coolant temperature was hitting 224 and the normal range is 190 to 220.  Of all the problems I thought I might have, this was not one.  I had replaced the leaky coolant overflow tank.  I'm sure I did it right with Tom's supervision, but I'll check things out tomorrow.

I moved along at around 50 mph to Brawley and stopped for groceries at the Walmart.  It was 3:45 by the time we got back on the road again.  These times are all Arizona times.  Luckily, vehicles towing are restricted to 55 mph so I wasn't going too slow.  To keep the temperature below 224 I was going 35 mph the last few miles.

It was 4:30 when I finally pulled into the Truckhaven BLM and I pulled to a stop for the night at the first fairly level place I could find.  The sun was going down right in front of me and I couldn't see a thing.

Texted everyone to let them know I made it and the fed Yuma.  I made myself a couple of cheeseburgers with chips and a coke.  I was starving and the stress didn't help matters either.  I was really hoping the problems were behind me, but not the case.  Tomorrow, I will do some investigating to see if there is an obvious solution to my overheating problem.  If not, I'm going to call someone and make an appointment to have it looked at.

Wish me luck and thanks for stopping by.

11 comments:

  1. I'm sorry your day was so stressful, but glad you made it to your destination. Hopefully, you can find the overheating problem and it's a quick fix. Super picture of the gang before you left them. Good luck finding your problem.

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  2. Doug, Have you cleaned your radiator and intercooler? The design of WL has the cooling air coming in from under the coach and that air tends to be dusty. Therefore the radiator and intercooler needs to be cleaned on a regular basis. Job is not hard, but tends to be a bit messy. I used a garden pump up sprayer filled with Simple Green for aluminum. Warm up engine, raise bed and spray the intercooler from the engine side, being sure to get into all four corners of fins, and you must work around the engine cooling fan. Let it set for a few minutes and rinse with a garden hose with a extended nozzle. Afterwards run engine and you should see a lot of gunk being removed from radiator and intercooler which are sandwiched together. I had this cleaning done by a CAT dealer first time, but then I did it once each year and did not have a heating problem. Good Luck with WL!! Carl Geo

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    1. I looked at inside section of the radiator and you're right it is filthy. I used some cleaner I had and hosed it down on both sides. It would be a nice surprise if that does the trick. Thanks for your suggestion.

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  3. We were sad to see you go but understand the need to move. Hopefully it’s something simple and you can enjoy the rest of the winter with no more worries. I’m sure Yuma is enjoying all the new smells.

    Deb

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    1. Thanks Deb. The suggestion above may be just the trick. We'll see.

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  4. Oh how I know the stress factor. It's makes you exhausted. The good news is the WL is starting up every time! YAHOO!! As to this rally, I wouldn't if I were you. Not many vendors at all (it's too expensive) and they charge a chunk to get in. I'm sorry to say, but not worth it in my book.

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    1. Thanks for the honesty, Nancy. I'm glad it starts. The rest can be dealt with.

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  5. We were sad to see and Yuma pull away but we were also glad the WL started up and you could pull away. Glad to hear you had made it yet sorry to read you had some stressful issues. Fingers crossed you find an easy solution. Stay safe.

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    1. Thanks Deb. Glad I made it to a place to stop. Not my choice of spots, but once I figure out my problem I'll move to a better place.

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  6. Glad the WL started right up :) Sorry about the other issue, but like you say you're somewhere you can get it figured out and move on again. I'm thinking Yuma's probably wondering where his friends are?! (cookie)..

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